About Me

I am a lifelong student of military history with particular interest in the Battle of Antietam. I work for the federal government in Washington DC and have two young adult children who I love very much. I currently volunteer at Antietam and devote much time to the study of this battle and the Maryland Campaign. I enjoy collecting notable contemporary quotations by and about the men of Antietam. Since 2013 I have been conducting in depth research on the regular artillery companies of the Union Army and their leaders. I hope to turn this into a book on this subject in the future. My perspective comes from a 28-year career in the U.S. Army. Travels took me to World War II battlefields in Europe and the Pacific where American valor ended the tyranny of Nazism and Empire. But our country faced its own greatest challenge 80 years earlier during the Civil War. And it was the critical late summer of 1862, when Robert E. Lee launched the Maryland Campaign. It is an incredible story of drama, carnage, bravery, and missed opportunities that culminated around the fields and woodlots of peaceful Sharpsburg MD. So join me as I make this journey South from the North Woods.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

The copy of Special Order 191 that was found by Sergeant
John Bloss and Corporal Barton Mitchell and put into the hands of General
McClellan is now on display at Monocacy National Battlefield in Frederick.I was privileged to attend the
ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new exhibit on Friday.On hand beside the bevy of V.I.P.s were
descendents of the Bloss and Mitchell families.They contributed a number of previously unseen letters and
artifacts to the exhibit. It was exciting for me to see such an important part
of history and something so key to the Maryland Campaign.We owe a debt of thanks to everyone who
made the exhibition possible.

On Sunday when I was working at the Antietam Visitor’s Center, a
sharp-eyed visitor asked why the copy of the Lost Order on display begins with
paragraph III.Look closely at the
order here.Was that a typo?Where are the “lost” paragraphs?

In its entirety, Special Order 191 does in fact have
paragraphs I and II.However,
these paragraphs, which dealt largely with administrative matters not important
for the combat commanders, were omitted from the copy written for D. H.
Hill.The copy, written out for
D.H. Hill by Jackson from his original, also does not contain these
paragraphs.Here are the “lost”
paragraphs:

I.The citizens of Fredericktown being unwilling
while overrun by members of this army, to open their stores, to give them
confidence, and to secure to officers and men purchasing supplies for benefit
of this command, all officers and men of this army are strictly prohibited from
visiting Fredericktown except on business, in which cases they will bear
evidence of this in writing from division commanders. The provost marshal in
Fredericktown will see that his guard rigidly enforces this order.

II.Major Taylor will proceed to Leesburg, Virginia
and arrange for transportation of the sick and those unable to walk to
Winchester, securing the transportation of the country for this purpose. The
route between this and Culpepper Court-House east of the mountains being
unsafe, will no longer be travelled. Those on the way to this army already
across the river will move up promptly; all others will proceed to Winchester
collectively and under command of officers, at which point, being the general
depot of this army, its movements will be known and instructions given by
commanding officer regulating further movements.

Friday, August 3, 2012

It is not novel to say that the Civil War was almost unique
in that so many of the senior leaders were classmates and frequently close
friends with their opponents.This
was largely due to their West Point connections and prior service in the
Regular Army.Of the 197
officers that I am aware of that fought at the Battle of Antietam or otherwise
supported the Maryland Campaign, 48 attended West Point when George B.
McClellan was a cadet.It is normal
to see in an officer’s biographies that authors often state who they graduated
with at West Point.Take that a
step or two further.Who was also
at West Point when they were students their entire time.In a four year curriculum like that at the Academy in the 1840s, a man
would be connected with a total of nine year groups of cadets.He would certainly know the men in his
class the best.But for men who
arrive in the year immediately before or afterward, he would be spending three
years of his life with them as well.Men in these classes would also often be best of friends.Look at the table.

1843
(5)

1844
(3)

1845
(6)

1846 (14)

1847
(9)

1848
(6)

1849
(5)

Upper
Classman

Under Classman

William B.
Franklin

Roswell Ripley

James A.
Hardie

Henry F.
Clarke

Rufus Ingalls

Alfred
Pleasonton

Winfield
Scott Hancock

William F.
Smith

Fitz-John
Porter

John P Hatch

Delos B.
Sacket

William H.
Wood

David A.
Russell

George B. McClellan

Jesse L. Reno,

Darius N.
Couch

Thomas J. Jackson

Albert L.
Magilton

Truman
Seymour

Richard H.
Rush,

Samuel D.
Sturgis

David R. Jones,

George H.
Gordon

Frederic
Myers

Delancey
Floyd-Jones

John D.
Wilkins

Nelson H.
Davis

Orlando
Willcox, Ambrose P. Hill

Horatio
Gibson

Ambrose
Burnside

John Gibbon

Clermont
Best,

Romeyn B.
Ayres

Charles
Griffin

Thomas H.
Neill

James C.
Duane

Robert S.
Williamson

Joseph C.
Clark

John C.
Tidball

John Buford

George N. Evans

John G. Parke

Edward R.
Platt

Edward M.
Hudson

Samuel B.
Holabird

Alfred Cumming

Names highlighted in gray served in the Rebel
Army

The Class of 1846 contains such well-known
officers as McClellan, Reno, Couch, Jackson and Sturgis (if you only count
division commanders or higher.)McClellan also had very close friends in the classes that graduated
before and after him.Consider
William Franklin (1843), Baldy Smith (1845), Fitz-John Porter (1845), and at
one point his best friend Ambrose Burnside (1847).Many of the less known officers will appear on McClellan’s
staff.Commanders had much leeway
in who they selected for their official military family and would certainly have chosen
men who they got along with or who they were associated with previously.

From
the class of 1843 came officers who were present at West Point when McClellan was a fourth
year cadet.They include his Chief of Commissariat
Colonel Henry Clarke, Chief Quartermaster Lieutenant Colonel Rufus Ingalls, and Assistant Adjutant General James Hardie.The Inspector General of the Army was Colonel Delos Sacket
from the Class of 1845.Also from
that class was McClellan’s Assistant Provost Marshal, Major William Wood.From his own graduating class came Major Nelson Davis, an
assistant inspector general.McClellan’s
chief engineer Captain James Duane came from the Class of 1848 as did one of
his many aide-de camps Lieutenant Colonel Edward M. Hudson.These were third-year men when
McClellan graduated.Coincidence?

There were only six officers in this range of years who
would don the gray uniform.Two of
them Stonewall Jackson, and A.P. Hill undoubtedly were among the greatest
commanders that served the rebels.McClellan was very close to Hill and knew and respected Jackson’s work
ethic and attention to his studies. Additionally, Confederate division commander David "Neighbor" Jones graduated with McClellan. Ohio-born rebel Roswell Ripley graduated after McClellan's first year. Brigade commander Nathan "Shanks" Evans and Albert Cummings (who commanded Cadmus Wilcox's brigade of Richard Anderson's division) were underclassmen during Little Mac's tenure.

When I array this kind of information in various ways, it is
fascinating how the names line up and the relationships emerge.I won’t offer any further analysis (for
now), but take a look yourself and make your own conclusions.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

I awoke this morning to find that the combined odometer on my two blogs South From the North Woods (SFTNW) and Antietam Voices (AV), rolled over the 100,000 hits milestone.These two blogs are something that I have really enjoyed working on over the past four year. I have many more ideas than I have time to post so I am sad that I don’t get to spend time with my babies like I really want to.Thanks to the loyal group of friends out there who take the time to look in on SFTNW and AV now and then.I appreciate the support and interest.Stay tuned… and just 47 days to the 150th!